Hezbollah and the axis of refusal : Hamas, Iran and Syria

Summary, in English

Hezbollah has acquired a dual and contradictory reputation: as a legitimate political actor in Lebanon and as a terrorist organisation in the USA and Israel. This duality can be explained if we understand that Hezbollah is a nationalist entity that defines itself primarily within the Lebanese polity, as well as an anti-imperialist party intent on countering the regional hegemony of Israel and the USA. Forming alliances with Hamas, Iran and Syria, Hezbollah has become part of a 'rejectionist' axis that seeks to oppose perceived imperialism in the Middle East; this stance has become increasingly entrenched in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. Characterisations that focus on Hezbollah as a military opponent confirm the organisation's perceived need for a rejectionist stance. International acceptance of Hezbollah as a legitimate political actor within the Lebanese polity, on the other hand, would help to bring the basis of the rejectionist axis into question.

• Författare: Rola El Husseini
• Publiceringsår: 2010-09-08
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 803-815
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Third World Quarterly
• Volym: 31
• Issue: 5
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2010.502695
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: Taylor & Francis
• Ämne: Political Science
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 0143-6597